AuthorTopic: Washroom Atendants (Read 5642 times)

Why do washroom attendants even exist? They're creepy, IMHO, hanging around in the washroom to turn on the water, put soap on your hands, and hand you a towel. All for what, a lousy tip? It's gotta be the world's least necessary job.

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"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

Why do washroom attendants even exist? They're creepy, IMHO, hanging around in the washroom to turn on the water, put soap on your hands, and hand you a towel. All for what, a lousy tip? It's gotta be the world's least necessary job.

Don't think I've ever encountered one. I guess they're supposed to contribute to some sort of a luxury experience or something. But then again, I won't even use a bellhop or concierge or whatever they're called if I'm staying at a place that has that service. Why should I pay someone else to pack my stuff when I can do it myself?

I've seen them at the casinos, as well as the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, MA.

I forgot that they were at the Big E. But they seemed more like janitors. What I recall at the casinos like Foxwoods is that they often had cologne or other toiletries available. Not sure of those attendants had to buy those on their own or if they were provided by the casino.

Why do washroom attendants even exist? They're creepy, IMHO, hanging around in the washroom to turn on the water, put soap on your hands, and hand you a towel. All for what, a lousy tip? It's gotta be the world's least necessary job.

Don't think I've ever encountered one. I guess they're supposed to contribute to some sort of a luxury experience or something. But then again, I won't even use a bellhop or concierge or whatever they're called if I'm staying at a place that has that service. Why should I pay someone else to pack my stuff when I can do it myself?

A bellhop or concierge wouldn’t pack or unpack your suitcase. A butler would, but neither you nor I can afford to stay at a hotel with butler service. I don’t use bellhops frequently, but they’re convenient when I’m traveling by myself and have a lot of luggage, or when I arrive in a city before check-in and/or leave a city after check-out, and need to check my luggage with the bell desk while I go do other things luggage-free.

Regarding washroom attendants, I’ve never seen one outside of a nightclub or strip club. I agree that they’re annoying, doubly so when they’re in a bathroom that’s too small to accommodate one, but I just tip them a buck, go on my way, and, if at all possible, hold it the rest of the time I’m at that establishment.

The Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. had them. The Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) used to use that hotel, along with the nearby Marriott Wardman Park and the Washington Hilton as its convention hotels.

Aside - a few years ago, they moved the event to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center some miles away, allowing them to have everything either in the Convention Center or next door in the Washington Marriott Marquis Hotel (connected to the Convention Center by an understreet pedestrian tunnel).

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Why do washroom attendants even exist? They're creepy, IMHO, hanging around in the washroom to turn on the water, put soap on your hands, and hand you a towel. All for what, a lousy tip? It's gotta be the world's least necessary job.

Don't think I've ever encountered one. I guess they're supposed to contribute to some sort of a luxury experience or something. But then again, I won't even use a bellhop or concierge or whatever they're called if I'm staying at a place that has that service. Why should I pay someone else to pack my stuff when I can do it myself?

A bellhop or concierge wouldn’t pack or unpack your suitcase. A butler would, but neither you nor I can afford to stay at a hotel with butler service. I don’t use bellhops frequently, but they’re convenient when I’m traveling by myself and have a lot of luggage, or when I arrive in a city before check-in and/or leave a city after check-out, and need to check my luggage with the bell desk while I go do other things luggage-free.

Regarding washroom attendants, I’ve never seen one outside of a nightclub or strip club. I agree that they’re annoying, doubly so when they’re in a bathroom that’s too small to accommodate one, but I just tip them a buck, go on my way, and, if at all possible, hold it the rest of the time I’m at that establishment.

This was a the Old Crow Smokehouse (on Kinzie) on Wednesday for an event on their second floor. The main washroom (thankfully) lacked an attendant. Apparently the women's had two of them.

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"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

I've seen them in various restaurants or clubs, especially in cities. If they're simply turning on the faucet and/or handing me a paper towel, I don't tip. If I take one of their mints or use something they've put out, then I do.

It's one of those things that shocks you the first few times, then after that it's a meh-type thing.

Why do washroom attendants even exist? They're creepy, IMHO, hanging around in the washroom to turn on the water, put soap on your hands, and hand you a towel. All for what, a lousy tip? It's gotta be the world's least necessary job.

Don't think I've ever encountered one. I guess they're supposed to contribute to some sort of a luxury experience or something. But then again, I won't even use a bellhop or concierge or whatever they're called if I'm staying at a place that has that service. Why should I pay someone else to pack my stuff when I can do it myself?

A bellhop or concierge wouldn’t pack or unpack your suitcase. A butler would, but neither you nor I can afford to stay at a hotel with butler service. I don’t use bellhops frequently, but they’re convenient when I’m traveling by myself and have a lot of luggage, or when I arrive in a city before check-in and/or leave a city after check-out, and need to check my luggage with the bell desk while I go do other things luggage-free.

Regarding washroom attendants, I’ve never seen one outside of a nightclub or strip club. I agree that they’re annoying, doubly so when they’re in a bathroom that’s too small to accommodate one, but I just tip them a buck, go on my way, and, if at all possible, hold it the rest of the time I’m at that establishment.

This was a the Old Crow Smokehouse (on Kinzie) on Wednesday for an event on their second floor. The main washroom (thankfully) lacked an attendant. Apparently the women's had two of them.

Honestly, I haven’t been to a restaurant that’s nice enough to have one in years.

I don't consider The Big E bathroom keepers as attendants; they are there to keep the place as clean as possible.

I associate bathroom attendants in line with the scene in Ferris Buller's Day Off -- some guy sitting there to hand you stuff unnecessarily. It has been a long time since I have been in a bathroom with one -- probably last one was at some restaurant in DC when I worked there and it was required to eat at such snobby places due to my job (paralegal at a top DC firm).

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Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

I get the sense that the concept in general is a holdover from a time when the cultural expectation was that a business provide all sorts of service for its customers. A bagger bagged your groceries for you at the store, an attendant pumped your gas and cleaned your windshield for you at the gas station, a bellhop carried your suitcases for you at the hotel, the mailman brought the mail directly to your door instead of leaving it in a mailbox at the end of your driveway, etc.

Culture in the US has since shifted - we as consumers now expect low prices instead of high levels of service, which has resulted in a lot of these positions being eliminated to cut costs. And we now expect to be left alone by people outside of our social circles rather than appreciating friendly behavior from strangers, which means that when these positions do still exist many of us see them as an unnecessary person butting themselves into our business uninvited rather than as a nice gesture on the part of the business.

I'm having a really hard time finding it, but I remember a funny SNL skit from the 1990s with Kevin Nealon and Harvey Keitel where Nealon played a bathroom attendant in a single-use bathroom and Keitel played the, er, bathroom user.